Feb. 6, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- With the Northwestern Duals behind them, the Wildcats hit the road for the final dual meet tournaments of the regular season this weekend. The sixth-ranked 'Cats will compete at the Duke Duals in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Feb. 7, then visit South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Duals on Sunday, Feb. 8. The pair of tournaments will be the final dual meet tune-ups for the 25-7 Wildcats before the Midwest Conference Championships in South Bend on Feb. 28 and March 1.
NU opens up the weekend with a pair of duals in Durham on Saturday, facing the host Blue Devils at 8 a.m. Central before meeting up with North Carolina at 9 a.m. The Wildcats are a combined 3-0 against both the Blue Devils and Tar Heels this season, earning a 17-10 victory over Duke and an 18-9 win over North Carolina at the Penn Invitational on Jan. 10, followed by a 15-12 decision over the Tar Heels at the NU Duals this past weekend.
The 'Cats then make a quick trip west to South Bend to compete in the Notre Dame Duals the following day. NU will go head-to-head with seven schools, beginning with a 7 a.m. bout with Florida. Following bouts against UC San Diego and California Tech, the Wildcats meet up with conference opponent Cleveland State before closing out the day facing Stanford, Air Force and Oberlin. The Vikings are the only team Northwestern has seen already this year, as the 'Cats earned a 25-2 victory at the NU Duals on Jan. 31.
A pair of Wildcats continue to close in on personal milestones. Senior Sam Nemecek (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) enters the weekend ranked third on the program's all-time wins list at 379-63, and with eight victories would surpass Julia Földi's 386 career wins to move into second. Her .857 winning percentage is currently the program's all-time best, and she continues to inch closer to Jessica Florendo's school-record 410 victories. Junior Christa French (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) needs just one win to join the 200-victory club, boasting a career record of 199-66 heading into the weekend.
Following the pair of dual meets, NU fencers will compete at the USFA National Junior Olympics in Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 13-16, before preparing for the Midwest Conference Championships in South Bend Feb. 28 and March 1.
Duke Duals - Saturday, Feb. 7
Northwestern vs. Duke - 8 a.m.
Northwestern vs. North Carolina - 9 a.m.
Notre Dame Duals - Sunday, Feb. 8
Northwestern vs. Florida - 7 a.m.
Northwestern vs. UC San Diego - 8 a.m.
Northwestern vs. California Tech - 9 a.m.
Northwestern vs. Cleveland State - 10 a.m.
Northwestern vs. Stanford - 11 a.m.
Northwestern vs. Air Force - 1 p.m.
Northwestern vs. Oberlin - 2 p.m.